The Sunday Mail
Veronica Gwaze
For long, the church had remained in the peripheries of politics, taking only the role of watching and praying.
But recently, the role of the church in politics has been brought to the fore following a call made by the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) for political parties to reform their slogans, which have been blamed for inciting violence.
In recent times also, it has been a tale of prophets prophesying on political issues. And it has been mainly doom, without much solutions provided.
Recently, a meeting was held between churches and political parties. The meeting seeks to establish a social compact for peaceful co-existence and tolerance in the country ahead of the 2018 general elections.
It outlined the inclusive role that Zimbabweans, in-spite of religion, ought to play with ZHOCD expressing interest in contributing towards this peace and justice initiative.
As such, various Christian denominations have now awaken to be the “light of the world and salt of the earth”.
ZHOCD Executive Secretary, Pastor Blessing Makwara said the church plays the role of peace-making, building and keeping in addition to teaching the nation Godly ways.
“Well as Christians we believe we are called to be the salt of the earth and light of the world (Matthew 5:13). This mandate compels us to bring seasoning to every facet of life and to bring light, the truth, to the nation.
“When we pray as we are taught in Matthew 6: 9-13, we ask God that His Kingdom come on earth and that His will be done too.
Part of the culture of God’s Kingdom is the values of peace, joy, justice and righteousness. Further, we are instructed by the Apostle Paul to pray for all people, especially for those in positions of authority and power, that we may ‘lead a quiet and peaceable life in all Godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our saviour’, pastor Makwara said, quoting 1Timothy 2:1-4.
He added, “In this regard, we play the role of praying for the nation which embraces politics”.
In January this year, a local pastor, Patrick Mugadza prophesied that President Mugabe would die on October 17. That alone raised questions on the intercessory role of the church.
Should the church celebrate doom of its leaders or pray for them?
In quoting Romans 13, pastor Makwara said God ordained the institution of Government for the purpose of acting on God’s behalf, in administering justice and upholding righteousness, punishing evil while rewarding good.
“The church is the intercessor. We also encourage citizens to obey those in authority as long as they are on the side of justice and righteousness and further encourage the citizens to support those in authority in execution and implementation of policies and programs aimed at enhancing the quality of life.
“In fulfilment of Isaiah 2:3, the church is also the model of that which is right such that leaders can look up to the church for guidance. Given that politics is about the aggregation of human interests and determination of distribution of goods and services, the church plays the role of advocate for the poor, weak and vulnerable in society while also presenting accountability on the part of leadership. For example, the issue of the right to health,” he said.
The move towards a partnership of political parties and churches in pursuit of a united, just and prosperous nation founded on values of transparency, equality, freedom, fairness and honesty has to be applauded.
The Zimbabwe Council of Churches’ secretary general, Dr Kenneth Mtata said politics is the supreme power in the society where distribution of power lies, hence the need for the church to be involved.
“Members of the church are the same members of politics. In as much as we cannot tell people who to vote for we play the role of ensuring justice and freedom through protecting people’s rights. So when church engages politics, it is not deep politics but to see to it that religion is not forgotten. The church plays a huge role as the voice of conscience. Politics is a game of power, there is nothing wrong in striving for power but as the church our role is to remind the people how to acquire that power without falling off the line of faith, honesty and without losing integrity,” Dr Mtata said.
Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference (ZCBC) general secretary, Father Frederick Chiromba said the church plays the role of leading the nation in prayer.
“The word politics is Greek in origin, which means city. The church as part of the city cannot be left behind. It means it is everyone’s concern and therefore we have an essential role to play. We deal with social issues, politics too because those are the same people. There is a boundary in that we as church leadership do not assume political posts, especially the Catholic, but we help in moulding the nation by counselling and preaching to the nation to support developmental issues,” Father Chiromba highlighted.
In his speech during the burial of national hero Cde Don Kwaedza Muvuti on Wednesday, President Mugabe highlighted how pastors and prophets are being consulted by political leaders who are hoping to succeed in future, especially as the general elections beckon.
Union for the Development of Apostolic Churches in Zimbabwe (UDACIZA) secretary general, Reverend Edison Tsvakai said biblically, the church prays for the nation, which also includes the political facet.
“But we go even beyond prayer as we preach and counsel the nation to desist from unholy acts that sometimes provoke peace and stability. In that nature, we cannot avoid politics.
“We also help the Government in issues to do with policy and development. For example, child marriages, it is our role to ensure we fight that through teachings and counselling,” Rev Tsvakai said.
